Underdog
Underdog is the main character of his self-titled animated television series, which aired on NBC from 1964 to 1973, with 124 episodes. Normally a humble and lovable fellow named Shoeshine Boy, the character transforms into his heroic alter ego whenever his love interest, Sweet Polly Purebred, has been victimized; Underdog generally must foil the schemes of various villains, such as Simon Bar Sinister or Riff Raff, in order to save her. All of his dialogue on the show, with few exceptions, is in rhyming couplets. History with the Macy's Parade Balloon Underdog first appeared in the Macy's Parade as a balloon in 1965, only one year after his television show started. He was accompanied by an Underdog float for his debut. Like many balloons from this time period, he became a Parade mainstay and flew for many more years, despite the show ending in 1973. In 1981, Underdog received a repaint by Kemp Balloons. The balloon would make additional appearances at the 1985 Macy's-Egleston Christmas Parade, select grand-opening events of many Macy's stores, and various family events. The balloon was eventually retired after the 1984 parade and made 20 Parade appearances overall. Sometime during the early-2000s, the Macy's Parade Studio team took Underdog (alongside Linus the Lionhearted) out for a test to see his condition. However, upon inflating the balloon, the Parade Studio team discovered that his air chambers had become extremely deteriorated, and were incapable of holding helium. Due to this, the balloon was disposed of with only a part of his chest surviving. This portion of the balloon would later make an appearance in a Macy's Parade Pop-Up Exhibit, which was held throughout 2006 to celebrate the Parade's 80th Anniversary. The framed fabric now resides today in the parade chief executive officer's office at the Macy's New York Headquarters. Float In addition, an Underdog-themed float debuted alongside the balloon in 1965, and featured many of the show's characters and villains. Unlike the balloon, this float only made a few appearances before retiring in 1966. As a character A walk-around version of Underdog appeared on the "Toon Balloon-Abration" float in 2001, along with other characters who had balloons that had been retired, such as Popeye, Kermit the Frog, and Ice Skating Snoopy. Appearances in popular culture While no new Underdog balloon has been made for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, due to several conflicts with Classic Media, it made a couple appearances in outside pop-culture. * In 1994, the first Thanksgiving-themed episode of NBC's sitcom Friends centered around the accidental release of the Underdog balloon, which caused everyone to go to the roof to watch and get locked out of the apartment. * In 2008, the Underdog balloon made an appearance in a CGI ad for Coca-Cola that aired during Super Bowl XLII, where he chases a Coca-Cola bottle balloon through New York City, alongside a balloon of Stewie Griffin from Family Guy, a show that was never actually represented in the Parade. Incidents * In 1971, Underdog couldn't appear at all due to very strong winds and rainfall, which caused all of the balloons to be grounded. * In 1972, Underdog went out of control two times at Central Park West and Times Square. He first almost crashed to people at Central Park West and second he was pushed around by strong winds at Times Square, but the balloon wasn't damaged. * High winds affected the 1975 Parade. Because of this, wind gusts coming off of the roofs of skyscrapers caused handlers to lose control of the Underdog balloon, sending him crashing into a streetlight tearing off his right ear, after this his forehead and right ear were deflating. Because of this, he was removed from the Parade, alongside Astronaut Snoopy and the new Weeble Balloon. * In 1976, Underdog's right hand and left leg were punctured from lampposts around Times Square. * Just like 1972, in 1981 Underdog tilted and almost landed to the crowd during his NBC Appearance but the balloon went back up and didn't get damaged. Defects * In 1978, Underdog's right ear and left finger were deflated. * In 1980, Underdog's right ear was a bit deflated. * In 1984, Underdog's right hand was deflated. * In the 1985 Macy's Egleston Parade, His left arm was deflated. Music * Underdog Theme Song (1965-1967?) * Hokey Pokey (19??-1984) Gallery Gallery: Underdog Category:Macy's Balloon Characters Category:1965 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:Retired Balloons Category:1960s Balloons Category:Male Balloons Category:Cartoon Characters Category:Floats Category:Retired Floats Category:TV Characters Category:Goodyear Balloons Category:Balloons used outside of the parade Category:Balloons accompanied by floats Category:Balloons that got removed from the parade Category:Balloons that partially survive